2015 Federal Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2015 Federal Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.13.
Effective 2015-01-01Source: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (DOL)Verified 2026-08-30
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The cash wage is the part of the minimum wage the employer pays directly; the rest may be met by the employee's tips, up to the maximum tip credit the same row of the table states beside it.
What changed this year, and why
The Wage and Hour Division's table of minimum wages for tipped employees for 2015, last revised in December 2014, gives $2.13 per hour as the minimum cash wage an employer may pay a tipped employee under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The table carries only its own revision date and never dates the rate, so this page reports the figure as in force as of that revision rather than claiming an effective date no document states.
Common questions
- What was the federal tipped minimum cash wage in 2015?
- $2.13 per hour. The Department of Labor's table of minimum wages for tipped employees for 2015, last revised in December 2014, gives that amount as the minimum cash wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act, with the remainder of the federal minimum wage able to be met by tips up to the maximum tip credit the same row states.
- What if tips did not bring the employee up to the full minimum wage?
- The employer paid the difference. A tip credit is a credit against the minimum wage the employer already owes, not a lower wage in its own right, so an employee whose cash wage and tips together fell short of the applicable minimum wage was owed the shortfall in wages.
- Where does the figure on this page come from?
- From the Wage and Hour Division's own archived table Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees for 2015, last revised in December 2014. The federal row it was read from is quoted on this page, and the snapshot it was verified against is the one captured for this record.
Who counts as a tipped employee
Under federal law, a tipped employee is someone who works in an occupation where they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. This threshold determines whether your employer can pay you the lower cash wage and claim a tip credit toward the federal minimum wage obligation. If you meet this definition, special rules apply to how much your employer must pay you in cash wages and how tips count toward meeting the minimum wage requirement. The $30 monthly tip amount is the key figure that separates tipped employees from other workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This definition matters because it determines which wage rules apply to your employment situation.
Under the FLSA, a tipped employee is an employee engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
The federal tip credit lets employers pay tipped workers less than the full minimum wage by counting their tips toward the gap. An employer can take an FLSA tip credit equal to the difference between the direct wage, or the cash wage it pays directly to the tipped employee, and the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour. The minimum cash wage the employer must pay under federal law is $2.13 per hour. This means the tip credit covers the gap between $2.13 and $7.25 per hour. Your employer must still ensure that your combined tips and cash wages equal at least $7.25 per hour in every workweek, or it must make up any shortfall. Only tips you actually receive count toward this calculation. The verified figure for the federal cash wage is $2.13 per hour.
An employer can take an FLSA tip credit equal to the difference between the direct wage, or the cash wage it pays directly to the tipped employee, and the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
If your tips combined with your employer's direct cash wages do not reach the full federal minimum wage in any workweek, your employer is legally required to pay you the shortfall. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct (or cash) wages do not equal the minimum hourly wage of $7.25 per hour in each workweek, the employer must make up the difference. This protection applies every single workweek, not just on average. Your employer must track your tips and cash wages weekly and ensure you receive at least $7.25 per hour after combining both sources of income. This guarantee holds regardless of whether business is slow or tips are lower than expected.
If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct (or cash) wages do not equal the minimum hourly wage of $7.25 per hour in each workweek, the employer must make up the difference.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
Before your employer can claim a tip credit and pay you less than the full minimum wage, it must give you specific notice under federal law. Employers must provide the following information to tipped employees before taking a tip credit under the FLSA: the amount of the direct (or cash) wage the employer is paying a tipped employee, which must be at least $2.13 per hour; the additional amount claimed by the employer as a tip credit, which cannot exceed $5.12 (the difference between the minimum required direct (or cash) wage of $2.13 and the current minimum wage of $7.25); that the tip credit claimed by the employer cannot exceed the amount of tips actually received by the employee; and that all tips received by the tipped employee must be retained by the employee except for any contribution to a valid tip pool. Under federal rules, this notice can be oral or written. If your employer fails to provide this information, it cannot take the tip credit and must pay you the full federal minimum wage.
Employers must provide the following information to tipped employees before taking a tip credit under the FLSA: the amount of the direct (or cash) wage the employer is paying a tipped employee, which must be at least $2.13 per hour; the additional amount claimed by the employer as a tip credit, which cannot exceed $5.12 (the difference between the minimum required direct (or cash) wage of $2.13 and the current minimum wage of $7.25);
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When state law gives more than the federal rule
When federal and state laws differ on tipped employee wages, employers must follow whichever rule provides greater protection to workers. When state law differs from the federal FLSA, an employer must comply with the standard most protective to employees. For example, some states require employers to pay a higher cash wage than the federal minimum of $2.13 per hour, while others prohibit tip credits entirely. This means that if you work in a state with stronger protections, your employer must follow that state's rule rather than the federal standard. You are entitled to the more generous wage or benefit, whether it comes from federal or state law.
When state law differs from the federal FLSA, an employer must comply with the standard most protective to employees.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
Federal law strictly prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees' tips, regardless of whether the employer claims a tip credit. Regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit, the FLSA prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees' tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. This means your employer, including managers and supervisors, cannot require you to hand over your tips to them, even if they pay you the full minimum wage and take no tip credit. The rule applies to all tip retention, whether direct or through tip pooling arrangements. All tips you receive belong to you, except for valid contributions to tip pools with other eligible employees.
Regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit, the FLSA prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees’ tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
When your employer claims a tip credit, any mandatory tip pool must only include workers in traditionally tipped occupations. An employer that takes a tip credit can require tipped employees to contribute tips only to a tip pool which is limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips, such as waiters, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), bussers, and service bartenders. This restriction ensures that tip pools under the federal tip credit system remain limited to workers who typically earn tips as part of their regular job duties. Your employer cannot force you to share tips with managers, supervisors, or employees in non-tipped occupations if the employer is taking a tip credit. The employer must also notify you of any required tip pool contribution amount.
An employer that takes a tip credit can require tipped employees to contribute tips only to a tip pool which is limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips, such as waiters, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), bussers, and service bartenders.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Doing two jobs for one employer
When you work two different jobs for the same employer, the tip credit rules apply only to the job where you actually receive tips. In some situations an employee is employed in a dual job, as for example, where a maintenance person in a hotel also serves as a server. In such a situation the employee, if they customarily and regularly receive at least $30 a month in tips for their work as a server, is a tipped employee only with respect to their employment as a server. This means your employer cannot take a tip credit for hours you work in your non-tipped position. You must receive the full federal minimum wage for all hours worked in occupations where you don't customarily and regularly earn tips. The tip credit only applies to time spent in the tipped occupation.
In such a situation the employee, if they customarily and regularly receive at least $30 a month in tips for their work as a server, is a tipped employee only with respect to their employment as a server.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (DOL)
- Minimum cash wage
FEDERAL: Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) $7.25 $5.12 $2.13 More than $30
Other years
Every Federal Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state